Frequently asked questions:

Of course. You can reach us Monday to Friday from 08:00 a.m. to 05:00 p.m. CET, in order to get more information about our watches. Fon: +49 (0)7082 93060. If you can not reach us between our regular working hours, please feel free to get in touch with us by E-Mail under info@stowa.com

Certainly we do send our watches to almost every country around the world.

Our expertise with world-wide-shipping is stretched to more than 35 countries, which includes almost all members of the European Union, USA, Asia, China, South America and Africa.

Please feel free to contact us if you prefer to send your watch e.g. to a friend's house in a country which is different to where you are living in. We are happy to support you and find a convenient solution.

Yes, you are most welcome to visit our workshop in Engelsbrand in order to see our comprehensive STOWA and SCHAUER collection as well as our STOWA in-house museum. Please note, that we produce your watch only on order. This means, that we do not have stock of any model from our collection, but we are happy to take your order in a personal appointment.

Our current delivery times of each model you find in our online shop indicated at each watch in particular.

Please note, that payment is due only when we get in touch with you by E-Mail with our payment request. Our payment request contains our complete bank details, account number as well as IBAN and SWIFT number you require to make the transfer. After receipt of payment we make the shipment of your watch within 14 days.

Of course all our customers have the right to return unworn watches within 14 days.

As soon as we have checked the watch we will refund the money. This happens rarely as normally all our customers are convinced of the quality delivered. In case of return we kindly ask our customer to cover the costs for the reshipment.

The movement ETA 2801 (handwinding), ETA 2824-2, ETA 2836-2 as well as Valjoux 7753 (all automatic) are delivered from the manufacturer already with a second stop (after drawing the crown the second hand stops).

Originally the movements Unitas 6498 and Peseux 7001 (both movements are based on elder constructions) were not delivered with a second stop.

We do not offer a modification of those movements as the expenditure of costs and time is too high (though it is not impossible).

Normally such modificated movements are offered only by more expensive trade marks and we do not know a single watch in the price category of the STOWA collection which is offered with exactly this function.

Therefore we don't intend to produce our models AnteaKS starting at € 650,- and Marine Original starting at € 890,- with a second stop to maintain the excellent cost/performance ratio. A modification to second stop would increase the price of these watches considerably.

The ETA 2824 automatic movement is based on the ETA 2801 handwinding movement.

(this means at first the 2801 was build, and then upgraded to the automatic version

which is called 2824).

Therefore - as both movements are basically build with the same components - the quality

is equal.

Possibly the automatic movement has in the daily use a small advantage regarding accuracy as this watch is always completely winded up (when the watch is worn).

A handwinding movement looses after winding up step by step spring power which might have consequences for the accuracy.

This can only be slightly noticed at modern movements.

In earlier times handwinding movements with chronometer certificate were special quality movements.

With an automatic movement it is more easier to get the chronometer certificate as

the spring is always tensed due to the continuous winding.

The daily winding (for example always in the morning) can give the ETA 2801 so much "power" that it can reach the same accuracy as the automatic movement.

If you would lay both watches down side by side without wearing them, the accuracy will even be identical as the parts influencing the accuracy are exactly the same. (train, balance with spring, pallet fork, escape wheel etc.)

In the following you will find some detailed information regarding the quality of our

built-in watch movements.

Please keep in mind that these information are often very complicated for laymen.

As customers are asking more and more for the quality of the built-in springs, hair

springs etc. we would like to publish these things:

ETA 2824-2

ELABORE version (our standard movement)

- golden STOWA logo on the standard rotor

- or hand-made rotor of German silver with individual engraving

- Incabloc or Novodiac shock protection

- min. 38 hrs power reserve

- 28 800 half vibrations per hour (4 HZ)

- Regulation from 0 up to plus 10 sec. divergence per day

(please keep in mind that during the "aging process" of the clock movement the bearing oil can become stiff, and your watch slower. If this circumstance disturbs you or the watch looses time a service of the clock movement will be necessary.

Our recommendation is every 4-5 years but it is also possible that your watch is working correctly for 6, 7 or even more years).

- barrel spring Nivaflex NO

- hair spring Nivarox 2

- gold-plated Nickel balance wheel

- max. amplitude 315 degrees

- min. amplitude 200 degrees

- max. adjusting mark of dial on top 0.4 ms

- 25 pallets of synthetic rubin

ETA announced in the year 2013 that they will change the shocksystem step by step in the movement caliber family with 28...., this means also 2824-2.

The todays shocksystem Incabloc will be changed to the inhouse produced ETA Nivachoc.

Both systems are the same quality.

We are not able to guarantee the one or the other shocksystem because ETA is free to deliver to us what they want.

The technic specifications and the dimensions in the movement are the same.

(please keep in mind that during the "aging process" of the clock movement the bearing oil can become stiff, and your watch slower. If this circumstance disturbs you or the watch looses time a service of the clock movement will be necessary.

Our recommendation is every 4-5 years but it is also possible that your watch is working correctly for 6, 7 or even more years).

- spring Nivaflex NM

- spiral spring anachronical

- gold-plated glucosuria balance

- red rubies on the finger balance, epilamized

- max. amplitude 315 degrees

- min. amplitude 200 degrees

- max. adjusting mark of dial on top 0.4 ms

- 25 pallets of synthetic rubin

ETA 2801-2

ELABORE version (our standard movement)

- rhodium-plated movement bridge with Geneva stripes and perl finish

- golden STOWA logo

- Incabloc shock protection

- min. 42 hrs power reserve

- 28 800 half vibrations per hour (4 HZ)

- Regulation from 0 up to plus 10 sec. divergence per day

(please keep in mind that during the "aging process" of the clock movement the bearing oil can become stiff, and your watch slower. If this circumstance disturbs you or the watch looses time a service of the clock movement will be necessary.

Our recommendation is every 4-5 years but it is also possible that your watch is working correctly for 6, 7 or even more years).

- barrel spring Nivaflex NO

- hair spring Nivarox 2

- gold-plated Nickel balance wheel

- max. amplitude 320 degrees

- min. amplitude 200 degrees

- max. adjusting mark of dial on top 0.4 ms

- 17 pallets of synthetic rubin

UNITAS 6498-1

ELABORE version (our standard version)

- rhodium-plated movement bridge with Geneva stripes

- golden STOWA logo

- gold-plated screw balance

- swan neck regular

- Incablock shock protection

- min. 46 hrs power reserve

- regulation of max 15 seconds plus divergence per day

(please keep in mind that during the "aging process" of the clock movement the bearing oil can become stiff, and your watch slower. If this circumstance disturbs you or the watch looses time a service of the clock movement will be necessary.

Our recommendation is every 4-5 years but it is also possible that your watch is working correctly for 6, 7 or even more years).

- barrel spring Nivaflex

- hair spring Nivarox 1

- max. amplitude 320 degrees

- min. amplitude 180 degrees

- max. adjusting mark dial on top 0.6 ms

- 17 pallets of synthetic rubin

PESEUX 7001

TOP version

- rhodium plated movement bridge with Geneva stripes

- golden STOWA logo

- gold-plated Glucydur

- Incabloc shock protection

- min. 42 hrs. power reserve

Regulation up to max. 15 seconds plus divergence per day

(please keep in mind that during the "aging process" of the clock movement the bearing oil can become stiff, and your watch slower. If this circumstance disturbs you or the watch looses time a service of the clock movement becomes necessary.

Our recommendation is every 4-5 years but it is also possible that your watch is working correctly for 6, 7 or even more years).

- barrel spring Nivaflex NM

- hair-spring Anachron

- max. amplitude 320 degrees

- min. amplitude 200 degrees

- max. adjusting mark dial on top 0,6 ms

- 17 pallets of synthetic rubin

SOPROD A10

TOP movement

- Geneva stripes

- blued screws

- golden STOWA engraving on rotor

- shock absorber (Incabloc)

- at least 42 hours power reserve

- 28 0000 half vibrations per hour (4 HZ)

- regulation to 0 up to 15 seconds variation per day

(kindly keep in mind that during the "aging process" of the movement the bearing oil gets sluggish, your watch gets slower. If this disturbs you or you watch looses time a service of your watch might be necessary. Our service recommendation is every 4-5 years but it is also possible that your watch runs 6,7 or even several years sufficiently good).

- Swiss escapement system of mhvj, a company of the Festina group

- 25 synthetic rubies

Comparison A10 to ETA 2824-2 and ETA 2892-2

The Soprod A10 has the same (flat) height as the ETA 2892-2. (both 3.60 mm)

Compared to the ETA 2824-2 it is about 1.00 mm flatter (height of ETA 2824-2 is 4.60 mm).

All 3 movements vibrate with 28800 half-vibrations per hour.

Therefore theoretically the power accuracy should be relative equal.

On the surface the SOPROD A10 differs insofar from the 2824-2 and 2892-2 that here we have chosen the very best

finish.

This is similar to the top- or chronometer versions which were built in former times and which were delivered against surcharges with visual upgrade.

The new automatic movement A10 is a completely new constructed and flatter automatic movement of the company Soprod/Switzerland.

From now on we use this movement for our model Antea 365 as unfortunately we do not get any longer ETA 2824-2 movements in higher quantities (ETA can reduce within the next years the amount they deliver worldwide to watch companies what is basically okay for us as this complies with our idea of a free market economy).

New movements as the current A10 of the company Soprod are complete new developments with high investment needs of the manufacturer. Furthermore those clock movements are produced in relatively low quantities what again increases the price per unit.

The surcharge for the new Antea 365 covers just the additional charge we have to pay for the new A10 movement. Of course we also prefered to hold the price steady but unfortunately this was not possible.

Please keep in mind that each price increase is discussed at STOWA very long and very critical.

If we then have to insist on the price increase - and it has been proved successfully in the past - we only demand the necessary surcharges we have to pay to our supplier.

We also will proceed like this in future so there will be no fantasy prices or unnecessary price increases.

Kindly have a look at the new A10 movement which has a beautiful movement proportion and a decoration like Geneva Stripes of which we think the surcharge is justified.

Furthermore the watch is ca. 1mm flatter and this goes well to the proportions of the 36.5 mm watch.

We are glad that we have found an alternative with the new constructed A10 movement to the ETA 2824-2 movement which unfortunately is no longer available in higher quantities

Yes, we use sapphire crystals in our entire collection for the front crystal as well as for the case back. Selected models like our Prodiver and Marine automatic for example, are equipped with a solid case back.

Basically the warranty claim of the original owner starting with the date of sale is passed over to the second- or third buyer.

In case that you have problems with your watch and you intend to send us the watch for service please send it at your own cost. Only after we have tested the watch for damages or incorrect use we can inform you on costs arising or a possible assumption of costs. Please be assured that we will do this always to your favour. Unfortunately some customers have made the experience that watches which came into the secondary market had no warranty time any more and did not function perfectly. For those watches we can not furnish any guarantee.

Of course we can do service required on these watches, also after many years. We would then submit you an estimate of costs.

Therefore when buying a used watch please look for the date of the first purchase and that the sales papers are complete.

Each STOWA watch is delivered with an original guarantee card containing besides the exact model description also the date of purchase.

Art Deco is the shortened form of the French expression, "art décorative" (decorative art) and also the abbreviation for the first international exhibition of the new applied art, the "Exposition des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes" [International Exhibition of Modern Industrial and Decorative Arts in Paris (1925). Art Deco was an international creative movement which encompassed all aspects of life: architecture, art, and arts and crafts, film and cinematography, advertising, and fashion. In addition to the tremendous amount of artistic output, this period was also characterised by completely new developments.

Triggered by the enormous population growth, numerous tenement houses, schools, hospitals, town houses, warehouses, and railway stations sprung up. There was an increase in mobility. By the end of the Twenties there were already 36 million automobiles in the world. Luxury ocean cruisers on the North Atlantic route with huge ballrooms, swimming pools and elegant suites and salons, as well as the express trains meant that travel was taken for granted. The American Charles Lindberg made the first flight over the Atlantic in his small aeroplane, "The Spirit of Saint Louis". Advertising, photography and motion picture art began to influence the masses. From the beginning of the Twentieth Century, the shop sign was increasingly used as a way to advertise. It was the period between the two World Wars, with the Depression, the Wall Street Crash, inflation, financial need and growing fascism. It was also the most turbulent, the wildest, and the most exciting period in the history of art in that century.

After the emotionally evocative art nouveau with its floral, swirling stylistic elements, Art Deco, with its inspiration drawn from Cubism resulting in the geometrical, linear and functional style of the Esprit Nouveau, sought out the new. Popular motifs were circles, rectangles, or sunrises with decorative sunbeams using intense, and at times, aggressive colours. Animals, and women's bodies were preferred, as far as being inspired by Nature was concerned

The typical after-effects of times of considerable hardship after the end of the First World War were expressed in the need for luxury, opulence and beautiful, valuable items. Cabinetmakers used the finest wood, such as ebony and rosewood, lacquer and the finest leather and ivory and mother-of-pearl inlays. Ottomans came into style with a vengeance and lacquer and leather found their way into decorative items and pieces of furniture. The most ingenious furniture designer of the time was Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann, a resident of Paris, who took several months to work on a single one of his creations. The exquisite materials used were expensive, and his prices correspondingly high. The decline of hand-made craftsmanship was unavoidable given progressive nature of industrialisation.

The introduction of new materials, such as bakelite, plastic, and chrome of necessity gave birth to the search for a new style which was suitaed to mass production. Opulent designs made from rare and expensive materials, embodying the quality which comes from master craftmanship were copied later and cheap, mass-produced versions appeared on the market, the consequence of which being that Art Deco became a worldwide artistic phenomenon.

The realisation that good design increased sales gave a tremendous boost to the industry. Furniture designs of the time show a diverse range of forms and ideas using the new materials, including tubular steel. Marcel Breuer, who ran the BAUHAUS furniture workshop until 1928, constructed the first tubular steel chair in 1925. The technical innovation lay in transforming the original forms of a conventional upholstered chair to a light structure of welded tubular steel. Finnish architect, Alvar Aalto, developed a new furniture form, using flexible laminated plywood by taking advantage of the natural moisture of the Finnish birch. In effect, he transferred the structural ideas of the Bauhaus tubular steel furniture and applied them to wood. In 1935, he presented his first cantilevered chair in curved plywood.

Important developments occurred in the Twenties, particularly in the area of textile design, which was overwhelmingly influenced by the international reputation of the Wiener Werkstätten (the Vienna Workshop). The leading designer, Josef Hoffmann, developed a more geometrically orientated design from floral and curved stylistic elements. Hoffmann, as well as van de Velde, Behrens, Riemerschmid, and others created designs whose geometric or dynamic shapes were intended for industrial production from the outset. Yet, the time for their practical transformation had not yet come. The samples books of the Wiener Werkstätten contain some 18,000 designs for textiles of all kinds. Many of them are timeless and considered modern even now, and have had considerable influence on the design of today's carpet collections in particular. Even Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, Georges Rouault, Georges Braque, and Raoul Dufy were amongst the artists who created designs for tapestries, and decorative and upholstery fabrics.

Because there continue to be minor misconceptions surrounding the design of the STOWA Antea, we would like to offer some clarification on the matter. Objectively speaking, the whole matter is much simpler than many think.

In the Thirties even well-known watchmakers in Glashütte purchased their dials in Pforzheim. One example is the famous watchmaker Lange, who bought his dials in Pforzheim. It is mere coincidence that these dials had Werkbund and Bauhaus design features. (Hans Irrek describes this two-thirds down page 18 of the Design Classics book, "The Tangente from NOMOS Glashütte".).

This fact has been confirmed by STOWA, as it has by many other people (including the son and long time manager of what was at the time the largest dial factory in the world). Back then, and even as recently as well into the Eighties, there were very few companies who made a habit of patenting the design of their watches! (I still remember my visits to the Pforzheim dial factory, where dials were always on sale, and orders with the brand names of all sorts of companies imprinted on them. Certainly, at the beginning of the Nineties, no one was as sensitive about the issue as they are today.) It was only in the Nineties, and primarily because the watch industry experienced a boom, that more and more companies realised that a distinct proprietary design is very valuable and should be protected – and this is something that we at STOWA are in complete agreement with. Yet, there are still companies who unearth an old design and patent it under their name. One might think this reprehensible, but this is not the case. Legislation states that things which have fallen "into oblivion", or have been relegated to "the forgotten past", can indeed be rediscovered and can be patented. The only thing is that the question, "When does something fall into oblivion?" poses a big problem for everyone. There have been cases in law, however, where applications to register a design patent have been approved, whilst others have not been clear-cut at all, and have not even "fallen into oblivion" yet. Nevertheless, the decision will always be a difficult one for the jurist to make. Because I am researching further into the subject of the origin of precisely those dials referred to in this question, I sometimes wonder who actually did design the dials that we, or other watchmakers, are currently using.

It hardly matters which firm did design these dials, because the designs themselves simply do not belong exclusively to any one company; rather, they came into being during a particular era in the dial industry in Pforzheim and Switzerland.

I was digging more deeply into the material, and I have been researching for months in an attempt to find the actual designer of these dials. He must have lived and worked somewhere in Pforzheim. This is exciting! Besides, the modus operandi of many existing and former dial factories is and was much the same. There would have been a creative or design department, which would show their dial collections to the watchmakers several times a year. The watchmakers (amongst whom there are some very successful brands today) selected their dials and ordered them with their name on them, with possibly very minor changes being made to them by the dial manufacturer. Having said that, it has to be quite clearly stated that the former designers in the dial factories started the trend – in the watch industry, anyway. It is only today that the design of watches and dials has become a particularly important and large part of the watch industry. I hope my observations above have brought some clarity to the matter. There are so many other things that still ought to be said on this subject. Many watch collectors are nevertheless are familiar with the countless watches from the Thirties, which all drew on the same design vocabulary, and today many companies use them as a basis for new models.

Sometimes there are discussions about the "Country of Origin" of STOWA watches and other watchbrands.

We at STOWA want to be open as always.

Already in the year 2007 an article in the german watchmagazine Armbanduhren was published.

(in the reason of the 80th. Anniversary of the STOWA Brand)

It was the result of a interview Jörg Schauer gave to Armbanduhren.

Martin Häussermann(Journalist) and Jörg Schauer talked about the marketing and philosophy of STOWA.:

"Even under Schauer's aegis, these have been turbulent times for Stowa, with a lot of pressure being exerted on prices.The young team in Engelsbrand has managed to release this pressure in two ways: on the one hand, Schauer has been systematically and successfully looking for component manufacturers with a more favourable pricing structure, including those in the Far East, he admits. On the other hand, he emphasised that "80 percent of the value of Stowa watches is created in Europe". The company's marketing policy has been changed as well: from a traditional brand to direct sales. Schauer has been selling Stowa almost exclusively on-line for almost three years now (www.stowa.com) or directly from his workshop. Stowa watches have become clearly cheaper as a result of more favourable purchasing terms and the elimination of dealer profit margins."